My cousin has a lever action in 450 marlin and all he talks about is how hard it is to find ammo and the cost when he finds it. 45-70 is well known and probably easier to get. They have very similar ballistics so it comes down to personal preference and availability.

I have a few Henry rifles and a couple marlins. Not impressed with marlin quality... or bad but similar to a savage. Henrys I have are nice but for 45-70 I kind of wanted the kings gate. Don't have any Winchester lever guns and have never had a 450...so arrived at that conclusion.

I think 45/70 would be the smarter round to go with...maybe I'll find a Winchester for that one and call it good. Haven't found much the 450 brings to the table that the 45-70 can't.

450 Marlin is in my opinion for those who wanted a hot-rodded 45-70 round but didn't reload. Availability where I am for 45-70 far exceeds 450. Today it's not hard to find hot rounds for 45-70 from ammo suppliers such as Buffalo Bore or Garrett as long as you have newer rifles capable of handling the higher pressures.

Very few 444s to be found...and 45-70 is plentiful plus as mentioned the Marlin rebate. Can find a cowboy version for 650 delivered plus 100 back....think I might even go 26" and wait for it.....scope it

I would consider a Henry rifle. Marlins of today a really lacking. They have not quite figured things out yet since they moved the company and had no design to really go from for old marlin. Do a little googling on the subject of marlins.

Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

When I got my 45-70 (probably 10 years ago) I really debated between the 450 and 45-70. But everyone I talked to said go 45-70 for the fact that it is always available and will always be available. Its nearly as common and .308 and 30-06 when it comes to getting ammo for it.

If you hand load, you can close the gap to a pretty insignificant amount.

Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

Have no experience with the 45-70 but had to chime in on the 444. It is not for the recoil hater. In the Marlin it is gonna punch the buggers out of ya. I suspect the 45-70 would do the same. I like my 444 cause I reload and it is impressive to me to be able to actually get a consistent group at 300yds with what is basically a pistol bullet. I load it with Hornady 240 gr HP to 2150fps. Don't know how it is to get factory ammo for a 444 but have had no issues getting brass and it does last a looong time. I am confident that either will handle whatever you point it at. I do have to concede that the newer model Marlins appear to have lost some quality. Mine is a late 60's early 70's model and pretty solid. I do suggest staying away from the new Winchesters. What a gunsmith nightmare. Rough stamped light duty junk parts that can't possibly last. Very disappointing to say the least. And the Henry's, haven't worked on one in yrs. That may speak for its self. The ones I have worked on were well built but you will pay the difference $$$.

Good luck! look forward to knowing what you do........

Take care of Soldiers, Show em how its done and do it with em, Run to the Fight & and hold your ground! I die my men go home! If you're a NCO and this ain't you. GET OUT! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I ordered the Marlin 1895 Cowboy. Had some JM rifles that were ok but not great and some more recent 336s that were ok at best. Have read things improving quite a bit lately and especially for the Cowboy version. At 685 delivered plus 100 rebate off of that its worth a try I guess.

Expecting about savage quality in it....hope it shoots like one too and I pray the trigger is better than my 30-30s. Might grab a Winchester 94 in 357 as well so I can compare that one as well. If Henry had a side load I would have went that route.

I do handload and looking at numbers I couldn't make any argument to get a 450 even though I tried.

The tube load was my biggest complaint against the Henry too. But after using them a lot more now, they are not much slower. But a bit more awkward, but a little practice and they work well. I have a Marlin 357 and 45-70 and love them both. But going forward it will be Henry for me. They are a better gun in every regard.

45-70 is a very fun caliber. Enjoy.

I really like the 325 FTX hornady bullets. They turn it into a 250 yard gun. My POI went up 8 inches at 100 yards vs a 300 grain flat nose. That is all I shoot now.

Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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